As has been indicated in the foregoing copending application and as will also be apparent from Europatent document EP-A-No. 0 167 462, cross-country skis with ridges of the aforedescribed type of generally trapezoidal cross section are increasingly in common use and, of course, devices have been developed to connect the ski boot, which can have a groove complementary to the ridge to the boot of the ski.
The pivotal connection between the ski boot and the ski body can provide a pivot axis for the toe clamp of the ski constituting the binding or for the boot itself which extends directly through the ridge below the upper surface thereof and transversely of the ridge.
In the Europatent document, commonly owned with the present application, there is described a device for affixing the ski boot to the ski which comprises a stirrup mounted on the ski and having two arms which are disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal ridge of the ski and connected by a crosspiece located above the ridge.
The two arms are swingable on the ski about a transverse axis traversing the ridge and the part of the stirrup which lies above the ridge has a shape enabling it to engage a projection or nose formed at the toe of the ski body. Means can be provided for clamping this nose to the stirrup.
The clamping or locking means which thus serves to immobilize the front of the boot to the pivotal stirrup in this system is constituted by a lever articulated on the stirrup by an intermediate element so that it swings about an axis parallel to the pivot axis of the lever and can enable the latter to come to bear on the projection at the front of the boot.
While the principle of this system may be valid, in practice the device is not as easy to use as is desired and hence improvement in the toe binding structure has been indicated.